There has been quite an uproar over the move to pay fast-food workers $15/hour. Many EMS personnel look at their own meager pay rates and cry foul. Then memes like this begin to circle the internet.
People are upset and rightfully so.
But it has nothing to do with competency. It has nothing to do with college. It has nothing to do with pickles, onions, or rapid trauma assessments. It has nothing to do with the required skills of the job.
If prices rise and wages do not keep pace with inflation, then the first people to feel the discrepancy are minimum wage workers, those at the bottom with the least wiggle room. When the discrepancy becomes uncomfortable enough, they begin to push for higher wages (see meme above). This does not mean that other people, such as EMS personnel, get waged out--it means that all wages shift upwards. Yes, it takes time, and it is not an even, across the board shift, but all wages DO shift upwards eventually. Wages must keep up with inflation. If the upper level workers want higher wages, the lower wage workers have to shift first. This is not a threat. It is not about the value of the job or the skills. It is simple economics, a symptom of inflation.
Inflation is caused by the debasement of the currency. The government prints money, lowers the value of the dollar, so it takes more to equal the same value. When they stop printing, inflation stops, and there is a recession/depression, which is called market correction. When people freak out enough about the economic correction, they start printing again and inflate some more. This is the business cycle. Resisting wage increases does NOT stop prices from rising or stop inflation; it only further marginalizes the lowest wage earners and causes the population to fight among itself, each group blaming the other and trying to feel more valuable than the other skill set.
It’s easier to never start inflating than it is to stop inflation.
One short-term fix is to raise wages across the board. Of course, our current political environment could (would?) never accomplish something that widespread. It would uncover the reasoning why it was necessary in the first place and probably lead to further political instability. Our only option then is to raise minimum wage and understand that in time our own wages will increase, as well—just in time for prices to rise again. Does it need to be $15 an hour? Probably not, but wise negotiation always starts high.
Here’s the key: if we are going to inflate the money, we need to own the consequences completely. This includes raising minimum wage and making wages match inflation again. To not do so is unfair to those who have lost the most value due to inflation. Don't like it? Then we must stop inflating our currency.
